Posts Tagged ‘cancellation’

Ofcom back consumer’s right to cancel T-Mobile contract – but did T-Mobile contact you?

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Bitterwallet - Ofcom logoThe ongoing saga concerning T-Mobile has taken a surprising twist today. For six weeks we’ve highlighted T-Mobile’s refusal to deal fairly with customers, with regards to the service provider’s massive increases in the cost of international roaming. The charges form a legitimate part of a customer’s contract, but T-Mobile deliberately excluded them from the clauses allowing the right to cancel without penalty – even if they caused material detriment.

Ofcom has today told Bitterwallet that T-Mobile is wrong to do so, in that customers who are likely to suffer material detriment as a result of these increases should be offered the right to cancel without penalty.

On Friday we published correspondence between T-Mobile and Ofcom, which indicated they supported the consumer’s right to cancel without charge in this matter. We contacted Ofcom for clarification concerning this and their ongoing investigation:

Bitterwallet: When is Ofcom likely to conclude their deliberations and determine whether an investigation is required?

Ofcom: Ofcom has been monitoring complaints and has discussed the issue with T-Mobile. T-Mobile have confirmed to Ofcom that if customers feel that they are genuinely affected, to their material detriment, by the increase in certain roaming charges then they should call T-Mobile to discuss their account. Customers should ask that their inquiry be escalated to a Customer Service Manager who will discuss the available options. If customers are not content with the outcome of those discussions they can use the Dispute Resolution Scheme. T-Mobile is a member of CISAS.

On this basis we do not intend to open an investigation into T-Mobile on this issue.

Bitterwallet: What is meant by the final line of the statement (published here)? It indicates that Ofcom believes if the changes cause will impact on a customer’s bill, then T-Mobile cannot hold them to the existing terms and conditions.

Ofcom: It is our view that if the increased roaming charges are genuinely of material detriment to a consumer then under General Condition 9.3, T-Mobile should inform the Consumer of the ability to terminate the contract without penalty. If T-Mobile and the customer are in dispute over whether or not the increase in charges is of material detriment, then the customer can use the Dispute Resolution Scheme.

So Ofcom have determined T-Mobile should have offered the right to cancel without penalty, but also decided there will be no investigation into the service provider’s actions. What does that mean?

First, Ofcom is saying that if you will suffer material detriment – if your bill will increase as a result of the new charges – then T-Mobile should have given you the right to cancel. How do we define material detriment? That’s a little trickier – Ofcom told us “there is no set percentage to determine “material detriment” – it is assessed on the particular circumstance of each case.”

That’s very unhelpful, but because it’s so ambiguous we’d suggest it allows two ways to prove the new charges affect you:

  • have you been abroad in the past three months? Check your bills – if 10 per cent (or more) of the total call charges are as a resulting of roaming charges, it’s reasonable to assume you will suffer material detriment in the future (we’re suggesting 10 per cent because this is an unofficial figure that has been suggested by Ofcom and other service providers to customers in the past)
  • have you made plans to travel abroad in the next three months, or for a significant amount of time while under contract? If so, it’s reasonable to assume the new charges will be of material detriment to you

Follow the procedure as stated by Ofcom above, since T-Mobile have told Ofcom they will follow it. If T-Mobile refuse to resolve the issue then contact CISAS for arbitration. Include copies of your bills or travel arrangements that prove the likelihood of material detriment in the future, and a copy of this post too. Therefore, you’re providing a) proof of likely material detriment and b) a statement from Ofcom stating that T-Mobile should have offered the right to cancel without penalty in this particular instance. We’re not sure how CISAS can rule against you in this situation since Ofcom has clarified its position concerning T-Mobile, but no doubt we’ll be surprised. Let us know the outcome – we’d be interested to know what To-Mobile or CISAS define material detriment.

The second point is fundamental to this whole affair: according to Ofcom, T-Mobile should have informed customers of their right to cancel without penalty. But did they? Since material detriment is wide-open to interpretation, how did T-Mobile interpret it? In other words, were there any customers informed of the increased charges and their right to cancel?

Our posts on this story has received several dozen emails and several hundred comments over the past two months, and we don’t recall anybody who mentioned this happening. Perhaps nobody at all had travelled or worked abroad recently, but that’s very unlikely. Ofcom refused to clarify whether T-Mobile had notified customers, stating “the substance of our discussions with T-Mobile is confidential”.

So it’s over to you – have you travelled abroad in recent months, and have roaming charges account for 10 per cent of your recent bills? If so, did T-Mobile contact you? At the moment, judging by all of your comments and emails, we can only conclude that nobody was informed of their rights by T-Mobile, that T-Mobile refused customers with valid reasons for cancellation of their right to do so, and that T-Mobile broke Ofcom’s General Conditions – in which case, the regulator should reconsider opening an investigation.

How to cancel your Virgin mobile contract – update

Monday, August 17th, 2009

While covering Orange’s attempts to change your contract, we also published a post about how you could cancel your Virgin Mobile contract for similar reasons. Bitterwallet reader Steve got in touch to tell us about changes Virgin Mobile are making to pay-monthly customer terms. Looking through the changes, they’re likely to effect most customers – in essence, if you call landlines or other Virgin mobiles, or make any other calls that less than a minute, then you’re going to pay more than you originally agreed to when you signed the contract.

Here’s the email that was sent to Steve, that every Virgin Mobile customer should have received:

picture 12 How to cancel your Virgin mobile contract   update

Is this an opportunity to cancel your Virgin Mobile contract? Yep. Virgin’s terms and conditions mention material detriment (i.e. your bill is likely to increase as a result of these changes) which is subtly different to Orange’s terms, which didn’t. That said, the changes are so fundamental they’re bound to effect you. Short of leaving your phone permanently switched off, you’re probably going to be worse off:

  • Call any landline or Virgin Mobile number and calls will cost 20p per minute at all times, instead of 15p per minute for the first five minutes of the day, and 5p per minute after that – so a call that lasts two minutes will cost 40p instead of 30p, a six minute call will cost £1.20 instead of 80p and a 10 minute call will cost £2 instead of £1.
  • Make any calls to any landline or mobile number lasting less than a minute, and you’ll pay for a full minute rather than the actual duration of the call

What to do next

Here are the particular Virgin terms and conditions relevant to your situation. Have a read through so you’re aware of what you agreed with Virgin:

2.2 Minimum Term: This Agreement will continue for at least the Minimum Term although you may cancel it during the Minimum Term in accordance with Clause 10.

10.2 Your right to cancel: You may end this Agreement immediately in the following circumstances:

(c) if you do not accept any change that we notify you about in accordance with clause 5.3 and you notify us in accordance with clause 5.4 that you do not accept such change.

5.3 Significant changes: We will notify you at least one month in advance of any change coming into effect that (in our reasonable opinion):

(b) is a change to your Agreement, your Contract Allowance, the Services or any Additional Services you are using, or to the Charges for any Services or Additional Services you are using, which is likely to be of material detriment to you.

You’ll have a better chance of cancelling your contract if you a) know the relevant terms and conditions (which you do, because they’re above) and b) go through your last three bills and are aware of several examples per month of calls which will cost more once the new price structure begins – so any calls to landlines or Virgin mobile numbers of any sort, or to landlines or mobiles that last less than a minute. By doing this you’ll have clear proof, based on your billing history, that the new prices are likely to be of material detriment to you.

Judging by the comments in the original thread, readers are finding it far easier dealing with Virgin Mobile customer services than they ever did with Orange.  One recurring trend is that customers are being told they can’t cancel until the date of the changes in September. This is incorrect – as clause 10.2 states, it’s your right to cancel immediately once notified of the changes; more importantly, if you don’t inform Virgin Mobile within 30 days of being notified, it’ll be assumed you accept the changes and your right to cancel will be void.

Above all else remember to be polite and calm with operators at all time – treat them with disrespect and you’ll probably find that any goodwill and helpfulness suddenly dries up. As before, support other readers by telling us how you get on. Good luck!

Did Carphone Warehouse do the dirty on Orange?

Friday, August 14th, 2009

After a rollercoaster couple of weeks, an interesting footnote has been added to the saga of Orange attempting to change their out-of-bundle call charges, but ultimately backing down after so many customers took the opportunity to cancel their contract. There are now reports on industry websites that suggest Orange customers weren’t the only ones to take advantage of the situation; third party retailers, including Carphone Warehouse, are said to have turned the loophole to their advantage to boost their own sales figures.

picture 42 Did Carphone Warehouse do the dirty on Orange?
According to Mobile News:

“…a number of retail staff in retailers such as Carphone Warehouse have been using this as a way of getting customers to cancel existing contracts, and then re-signing them to a new contract on a different network. Thus giving the sales person an extra new contract to their sales target and the customer a brand new handset.

One Carphone Warehouse staffer said: “I had a call from another store telling us we could cancel Orange contracts and it turned out to be true. Since we found out we have been using it as a way of getting new business and so have many other stores.”

And again at What Mobile:

A forum member, ‘Simax’ who works for Orange posted on our forum: “What also amused me was the amount of dealers who were advertising the loophole. Some of who took out a few contracts at the end of last month who now cannot cancel. Not only naughty in the first place, but serves them right!”

If that’s the case, Orange will no doubt be examining their dealings with Carphone Warehouse and other third parties over the past three weeks, to determine which of their trusted retailers tried to screw them into the ground.

Orange cancel call charge increases – official statement

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

As promised, here is the statement from Orange concerning their decision not to proceed with planned changes to call charges. Orange has also confirmed on MSE that customers that have requested their PAC code “will still get it”, meaning if you had already confirmed your cancellation and requested to transfer your number to another provider, the cancellation still stands:

“Orange recently decided to make changes to contract customers’ call charges for out-of-bundle minimum call rate, international calls from the UK and pay-as-you consume data browsing.

However in listening to our customers it became clear that some of them found the messages sent to announce these changes confusing about who would be affected and how. This is obviously not our intention and therefore we have decided not to go ahead with the proposed changes.

It is normal practice for businesses to make pricing changes, and whilst we clearly cannot rule out any future changes we know that transparency and consistency in our policies is extremely important to our customers. Orange apologises to those customers who found the messages unclear and any subsequent misunderstanding this has caused. We will be reviewing all policies and procedures for price changes to make sure that they are clearer in future.

Orange always strives to deliver the best communications and we hope that these steps will overcome any confusion and frustration that our customers felt.”

UPDATE: Bitterwallet readers force Orange to scrap new call charges

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

UPDATE 1006: We’ve just spoken to Orange’s press office – there’s a full release due to be sent to us in the next few minutes, but in the meantime we can confirm that in cases where Orange have already agreed to a cancellation, these will still stand. Anybody who has requested a PAC code will be informed that the changes will not be going ahead, but will still be free to cancel.

Orange have apologised for “any frustration and confusion” that customers have experienced, and we’ve also been told Orange are carrying out a full review of customer service procedures to ensure future customers aren’t treated in the questionable manner reported by dozens of Bitterwallet readers.

phone rage UPDATE: Bitterwallet readers force Orange to scrap new call chargesIn the past three weeks, Bitterwallet has received thousands of comments and emails concerning Orange’s attempts to increase their charges on out-of-bundle minutes. You called their customer service reps in your droves, and amongst it all suffered inconsistencies and bare-faced lies from many of their operators.

And while we’re delighted to hear that our posts picking apart their own Terms of Service have secured new readers amongst Orange’s senior management and at Ofcom, it’s been staggering to see how many of you refused to accept changes made to your contract without permission, and fought for your right to cancel.

It’s your actions that last night forced Orange management into a meeting where they agreed to abandon the proposed increases. The Executive Office has confirmed that “a business decision was made” and that “further to feedback from several customers, Orange has decided not to go ahead with the proposed changes – Orange appreciates these changes were not communicated as well as they could have been.”

Orange aren’t admitting the charges were unfair, which is what the feedback surely reflected, but that their introduction was poorly communicated – regardless, consumer power has brought about some positive change. We’re now attempting to clarify Orange’s position concerning contracts they’ve already agreed to cancel – their press office have failed to provide any statements to us in the past week, but this is important stuff so we’ll try and get some answers. In the meantime if you have any information, let us know at bitterwallet@gmail.com.

[Image courtesy of TheGiantVermin]

ORANGE ALERT: Orange scrap plans to change Terms of Service?

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

UPDATE: ToS rollback now confirmed by Orange executive and press office. Existing cancellations will stand. Read it here.

In the last hour, we’ve received information from two individual sources that Orange has decided not to push through the proposed changes to its Terms of Service. If this is the case, then the new charges due to begin in September will not be introduced, and customers will no longer have grounds (as Orange’s current terms and conditions suggest) to cancel their contracts.

We’re letting you know because this information has been passed on from two different sources, although it is yet to be confirmed by Orange themselves; we’ll now attempt to verify this with their press office. In the meantime, if you have been told similar by an Orange representative in the past hour or can provide a source of official information, please get in touch at bitterwallet@gmail.com.

Cancelling your Orange contract – what does the law say?

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

phone rage Cancelling your Orange contract   what does the law say?UPDATE: Orange has now scrapped the ToS change following consumer upset and cancellations. Existing cancellations will stand. Read full update and official statement here.All day, we’ve been receiving emails and reading comments concerning your attempts to cancel your Orange contract. Tomorrow, we’ll be providing you with a more definitive guide detailing what action to take if your efforts have so far proved unsuccessful. Until then, the Bitterwallet team has been digging through consumer law to ascertain where you stand.

That said, this post shouldn’t be taken as legal advice for your particular situation, nor is it a substitute for the real thing. As with everything we’ve posted so far, this is general information. We’re not lawyers or solicitors, and despite what we might tell you when we’re drunk, we’re not pilots or porn stars either.

Right then. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR) apply to unfair terms in contracts concluded between a consumer and a seller of goods or a supplier of services. By the UTCCR an unfair term is one which has not been properly negotiated (such as a standard term) and which, contrary to good faith, causes a significant imbalance in favour of the seller or supplier. Any term which is unfair is not binding on the consumer, but the rest of the contract may continue in operation if it is capable of continuing without it.

Now the interesting stuff. Section 5 and Schedule 2 of the UTCCR sets out a non-exhaustive list of terms considered unfair:

  • (i) irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract;
  • (j) enabling the seller or supplier to alter the terms of the contract unilaterally without a valid reason which is specified in the contract;
  • (l) providing for the price of goods to be determined at the time of delivery or allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was concluded;

We think customers have a good argument that the new minimum charges applying to all calls from 14 September 2009 that exceed their call plan allowance are unfair under the terms of these regulations. The change occurred after the contract, no valid reason is given, the final price is high. And this is not a severable part of the contract, it actually goes to the very heart of it. These regulations are clear that if that if the price is increased, then a corresponding right must be given to allow the consumer to cancel the contract. This right to cancel must also be fair – and so have been bought to the consumer’s attention before the contract was concluded – and so cannot now be unilaterally amended or added to, or be given an unnatural interpretation.

There are also concerns with regards to the Unfair Contract Terms Act of 1977 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, but we need to you stay alert for the next bit.

With regards to Orange’s Terms of Service:

The clear language of clause 15 entitles you to terminate on a change in charges if excessive in accordance with clause 4.3, provided you do so within 1 month of being told of them.

The clause refers to Charges – not Service or Price Plans – so on its very face the right to terminate applies to Out of Service Plan Charges. These minimum charges apply to all calls from 14 September 2009 other than service plan calls. These ordinary calls are not severable from the services as a whole and we certainly don’t think they fall within the definition of Additional Services. Obviously we’re of the opinion that the increase is excessive and is a change to your detriment. Only a court can say so definitively however.

Arguably even those still within their Minimum Terms can cancel, without having to pay the total remaining monthly charges to the end of the notice period. It’s not entirely clear from the language of the contract however and there is a risk that a claim might still be made for damages for termination or breach (i.e. the usual termination charges under clause 4.2). Only a court can finally determine the correct interpretation.

Finally, you don’t ever need anyone’s consent to terminate a contract. You can always terminate a contract and stop your direct debit by informing your bank. The issue is whether or not you will be liable for damages for breach, and that depends on the contract language. If you terminate and Orange does not agree to it, then they may claim damages for breach – usually any standard monthly charge to the end of the notice period or until the end of any Minimum Term less a rebate for early payment.

And relax. Got that? Good. More tomorrow.

Cancel your Orange contract – no answers, plenty of questions

Monday, August 10th, 2009

UPDATE 12/08: Orange has now scrapped the ToS change following consumer upset and cancellations. Read full update and official statement here.

UPDATE 10/8: Ofcom have now responded to Bitterwallet’s request for a statement on the current situation. You can read it here.

What’s going on, then? Can you cancel your Orange contract or not? By their own terms and conditions, the answer is yes. If you call them however, the answer will be yes, maybe or absolutely not – although this may change throughout the duration of the call. There’s no consistency in the reasons given either way. The whole thing is a mess and Orange are tying themselves in knots as they try to fob off their customers.

We’ve spoken to the Executive Office at Orange, and were told that customers must be eligible under specific criteria if they wish to cancel, although the office wasn’t aware of what the criteria were. They said the retentions department are working off a spreadsheet that states whether a customer is eligible or not. When we asked where these criteria were recorded in the customer contract or Orange’s Terms of Service, we were told they weren’t, although that we should be aware that while customers are eligible to cancel under the terms and conditions (!) Orange are simply raising their call charges in line with other networks.

So on the one hand customers are eligible to cancel, but on the other it’s only if Orange wants to let them. That pretty much sums up where we are at the moment. We’re waiting to hear back from Orange for an official statement, and we’ve also asked Ofcom to comment too, given that operators are telling customers that Ofcom have rubber-stamped the changes.

We’ll let you know when we hear back from either one, but in the meantime there is action you can take now. If you want to cancel but have so far been refused, please take note:

  • if you’re getting nowhere with customer services, call Orange’s executive office on 08000 790 134. Explain that regardless of your current usage, the changes Orange are making are outside of your plan, therefore you have a legal right to cancel and you are formally stating your refusal to accept the new Terms of Service. The customer service team here cannot help you – they’ll refer you to the retentions department – but it means you are formally stating your refusal to agree to the terms (thanks to Kernal). As always, remain calm and polite.
  • call Ofcom’s advisory team on 020 7981 3040 or 0300 123 3333. They will only offer advice on the matter, give you a reference number and most likely refer you to CISAS – an independent dispute resolution service. Regardless, register your complaint with Ofcom – they are more likely to investigate the matter if they feel there is a widespread issue.

Meanwhile, here are four questions we’d like Orange to answer:

Why did an Orange spokesperson go on the record and say all customers have the right to cancel?

Orange seemingly has a very short memory. Mobile News reported on this story at the end of July, which included this quote from an Orange spokesperson:

“Orange has increased its minimum call charge from 5p to 15p. So what this means is that if you go over your inclusive minutes, the first minute is now 15p and any other minute of that same call is as per your current out-of-bundle rates.

“Whilst our terms and conditions do allow customers to terminate their contract as a result of this change, we are confident that the majority of our customers will not be affected by this because of the nature of their talk plans and their usage.”

So let’s be clear on this: an Orange spokesperson told the press the majority of customers will not be affected because of their usage, but that the terms and conditions allow them to terminate their contract as a result.

We’ve spoke to Mobile News, and the quote is solid – these are Orange’s own words. Are they attempting to reverse course because the changes have been highlighted by the likes of Bitterwallet and MSE, and so many people are attempting to cancel?

(more…)

Orange – the latest gravy in the battle for contract cancellations

Monday, August 10th, 2009

telephone operator1 293x300 Orange   the latest gravy in the battle for contract cancellationsUPDATE 12/08: Orange has now scrapped the ToS change following consumer upset and cancellations. Read full update and official statement here.

So this whole Orange cancellation thing then – here’s the latest.

A couple of weeks ago, we revealed that Orange customers had a cast-iron way to get out of their pay monthly contracts after the company had increased some of their call charges.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Orange customers took advantage, word got around and the whole thing began to snowball. A few questions about how to cancel arose, and so Paul came up with a troubleshooting guide. Our comments sections began to swell as you followed the instructions and gave us feedback on how it was working for you.

The days rolled by and more and more tales of successful cancellation followed and all was good. Then, towards then end of last week, things changed dramatically. Orange have started to reject some customers’ requests to cancel, saying that their legal team have told them they’re not eligible, because they don’t go over their monthly minutes allowance and they don’t make 0870 calls, the areas where the price changes are being actioned.

They’re also telling customers to make a complaint to Ofcom if they’re not happy, which sounds like fobbing off in the extreme. A case of telling you to make a noise somewhere else, through a procedure that’s trickier and more daunting than just picking up your phone, calling Orange and quoting a contract before getting your PAC number.

To us, this new approach from Orange sounds like complete and utter bollocks. Just because you haven’t encroached beyond your minutes or made an 0870 call YET doesn’t mean that you won’t in the future. Orange are deviating from the contractual agreement you both made when you signed up with them and now they’re trying to tell you that you have to just shut up, sit still and swallow a price rise whether you like it or not.

We’ll be spending the day trying to get a reaction to Orange’s shift in tactics from cleverer people than ourselves and hopefully the picture will become clearer over the next 24 hours. Either way, we’re certain that this isn’t over yet, and if you’re a disgruntled Orange customer looking for way out of your contract, we’ll do everything we can to help you make it happen.

Keep watching the skies, people.

Cancel your Orange contract – Orange break their own terms?

Friday, August 7th, 2009

UPDATE 12/08: Orange has now scrapped the ToS change following consumer upset and cancellations. Read full update and official statement here.

Over the last fortnight we’ve explained why you can cancel your Orange contract, and how to go about doing it. Armed with this information, Bitterwallet reader Scott phoned up to do just that. As you’ll hear, despite the Orange operator telling Scott the changes to their Terms of Service will directly affect him, he’s not allowed to cancel his monthly mobile contract until he receives a text (which… um… confirms he’s directly affected… again).

This means Orange are deliberately ignoring their own Terms of Service over how you receive information from them. Here’s what happened when Scott called:

As we’ve said, it seems are Orange are staggering the texts they send in order to deal with the demand to cancel. That said, cancellation is not dependent on receiving the text, as we explained in our trouble-shooting guide last week. If you signed a monthly contract before June (we don’t have an exact cut-off date) then you’re eligible to cancel, whether you receive a text or not. Read our trouble-shooting guide for all the information.

This is a brilliant effort by Scott, who keeps completely calm throughout – let’s see what happens in part two.

Now you can cancel your Virgin Mobile contract

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Yesterday we told you how Orange were making substantial changes to their basic mobile charges that allowed customers to cancel their Orange contracts. There’s a flurry of activity in the comments section, and we’ll bring you a round-up of what’s happening later in the week.

Meanwhile Bitterwallet reader Steve let us know that Virgin Mobile are also planning changes to their call charges for pay-monthly customers. Customers have been emailed the following notification:

picture 12 Now you can cancel your Virgin Mobile contract

Is this an opportunity for Virgin Mobile customers to end their contracts early? We’ve had a pick through Virgin Mobile’s terms and conditions for contract customers:

2.2 Minimum Term: This Agreement will continue for at least the Minimum Term although you may cancel it during the Minimum Term in accordance with Clause 10.

10.2 Your right to cancel: You may end this Agreement immediately in the following circumstances:

(c) if you do not accept any change that we notify you about in accordance with clause 5.3 and you notify us in accordance with clause 5.4 that you do not accept such change.

5.3 Significant changes: We will notify you at least one month in advance of any change coming into effect that (in our reasonable opinion):

(b) is a change to your Agreement, your Contract Allowance, the Services or any Additional Services you are using, or to the Charges for any Services or Additional Services you are using, which is likely to be of  material detriment to you.

This contract is subtly different to that of Orange; whereas Orange clearly stated that a customer could cancel if their rights were detrimentally effected, Virgin are stating there is only a case for cancellation if such changes have a detrimental effect on how much you pay.

So where does this leave you? Well, if you call just a handful of landline numbers every month, you’re going to be far worse off – your first ten minute conversation of the day will double in price, from £1 to £2. And if you make a handful of short calls a month, you’ll be paying more than you are now, because any call lasting less than a minute will be rounded up and you’ll be charged for the full minute.

You’ll have a better chance of cancelling your contract if you a) know the relevant terms and conditions (which you do, because they’re above) and b) go through your last three bills and highlight several examples per month of calls which will cost more once the new price structure begins – so any calls to landlines, or to landlines or mobiles that last less than a minute. By doing that you’ll have clear proof, based on your billing history, that the new prices will be of material detriment to you.

Three further points:

  • you don’t have to return the handset, despite what the agents may tell you:

2.4 Your handset: This Agreement only covers the provision of the Services by us to you. It does not cover any handsets or other devices you may have received with your SIM or as part of a package, either directly from us or through a third party retailer.

  • the contract states that you can only cancel in writing. You can argue that the point and you’ll probably be successful, but be aware you signed an agreement that states:

5.4 Non acceptance of changes: If you do not accept a change that falls within clause 5.3 you may cancel this Agreement by writing to us within 1 month of us telling you about any change, to let us know that you want to cancel.

  • the changes don’t come into effect until the 28th September; if you do cancel your contract on the grounds of detrimental change, you probably won’t be released form it until this date.

As always, let us know in the comments below how you get along. Good luck!